Standard Lemma guide

overzealous

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌəʊvəˈzɛləs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: OW2 V ER0 Z EH1 L AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Too zealous; too enthusiastic or fervent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • With his overzealous attempts to impress, he only managed to annoy her.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • rabid isolationist

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: fanatic, fanatical, rabid

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From over- + zealous.

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Danish: overentusiastisk — too zealous; too enthusiastic or fervent
  • German: übereifrig — too zealous; too enthusiastic or fervent
  • Swedish: överentusiastisk — too zealous; too enthusiastic or fervent
  • Swedish: övernitisk — too zealous; too enthusiastic or fervent